


Kittenfishing

by fluffy_fluff_scarf



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Yuri Plisetsky is a Brat, and lies a bit oops, but it does get a lil steamy, hence why i didn't choose warnings, if that makes you uncomfortable at all this is your warning!, it's only rated t so, nothing graphic or underage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-28 16:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30142554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_fluff_scarf/pseuds/fluffy_fluff_scarf
Summary: Kittenfishing (n.) - 'catfishing light'; not pretending to be another person online, but still misrepresenting yourself in a major wayHigh school sophomore Yuri Plisetsky gets a Tinder for shits and giggles. He lies about being eighteen, chats guys up online, and leaves them hanging when he gets bored of them - which happens fairly quickly. However, his routine gets thrown off when he matches with Otabek, a nineteen-year-old college freshman who grabs his attention in a way no one else has. What started as dumb fun leads to a real connection and when Otabek asks to meet in person, Yuri finds himself saying yes.Young and inexperienced, Yuri stumbles his way through the steps of a first relationship and finds himself drawn to Otabek while discovering his new - and slightly intimidating - feelings. The only problem? Otabek doesn't know Yuri is only fifteen. And Yuri decides to keep it that way.
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 7
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to work on a more original story and this popped into my head. This my first time using images in a fic, so bear with me if there are any formatting issues!

Yuri gagged to himself as another round of laughter came from the kitchen.

He didn’t dare look over the top of the couch he was laying on in fear of seeing Victor and the pig all over each other.

What could _possibly_ be so funny about making lunch?

He left the Twitter thread he was reading and texted Mila demanding to know why she wasn’t rescuing him.

Out of morbid curiosity and in order to confirm his suspicions, Yuri sat up and glanced towards the open kitchen.

Sure enough, Victor had his arms around Katsudon, pinning him against the counter as the shorter man worked on the chicken salad.

They were whispering to each other before Yuuri gently smacked Victor’s chest and they laughed again.

_God._

“I’m _right_ here,” Yuri sneered. “Christ, get a room.”

“Oh, you mean like our bedroom?” Victor asked innocently as he tightened his grip around his fiancé. He buried his nose in the other man’s dark hair. “What do you say, Yuuri? I think that sounds like a _great_ idea.”

“Ew, God! _Gross._ ” Yuri immaturely covered his ears.

“Victor.” Face red, Yuuri untangled himself from the taller man’s hold. “Don’t tease him.”

“But it’s so much fun,” Victor pouted.

Yuuri raised a brow at him before turning to pull a few plates out of a cabinet. “We’re sorry, Yurio. But lunch is ready.”

Yuri frowned at the hated nickname and pushed himself off the couch. “I’m going out with Mila.”

“Oh. Now?”

“Yeah.” Yuri went through the hall of the apartment to grab a jacket from his room.

It was early February in fucking _Georgia,_ so it wasn’t exactly cold – Yuri was Russian for Christ’s sake – but the jacket went with his outfit, so he kind of needed it.

Entering his room, Yuri gasped when he found the goddamn _dog_ on his bed. “Hey!” he rushed over and shooed off the large poodle. “Get off!”

Makkachin whined at the interruption to his nap, but eventually jumped off the bed and trotted out the door.

Fuming, Yuri looked around his (rather messy) room and spotted Potya lounging on his desk chair. “I’m sorry, Puma,” he cooed as he gently picked up the fluffy Himalayan. “Did that dumb, stinky dog steal your spot?” He gave her head a kiss before placing her on the comforter.

The cat sniffed around, pawed at the bedding, then promptly curled up and closed her eyes.

After taking a few (read: ten) pictures of her sleeping form, Yuri grabbed the leopard print jacket draped over the back of his chair and slipped his arms through the sleeves as he left his bedroom.

“Victor!” he shouted as he made his way back over to the kitchen. “Tell your stupid dog to stay out of my room.”

Victor gasped from the table. He got out of his chair and kneeled by the dog that was now laying pathetically on the kitchen floor.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he told the poodle, who’s tail began to wag from the attention. “You’re very smart. He didn’t mean that.”

“Yes, I did.”

“You can’t blame him!” Victor gave him those big, annoying eyes. “If the door is open, he thinks it’s okay.”

“I have to keep it open for Potya. Just teach him to stay out.”

With a loving kiss between the ears of said dog, Victor sat back at the table across from Yuuri. “Well, you know what they say about old dogs.”

“You’d know something about being old,” Yuri mumbled.

“Hm?”

“Nothing.” He pulled out his phone to check his messages.

Mila had responded.

Yuri went to the door and buzzed her into the building.

Only a minute later, there was a rapid knocking on the door and Yuri pulled it open.

“Uncle Vitya!” Mila called out, pushing past him into the apartment.

“Hey!” Yuri closed the door and crossed his arms.

“Mila!” Victor sung out as he stood up. He crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. “It’s been so long!”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “It’s been like a week.”

“Yuuri!” Mila broke away from her hug to slightly dance across the room to Yuuri.

“Hey, Mila.” Yuuri gladly accepted her hug with a smile.

“Well, can you blame us?” Victor asked Yuri. “You always go over to her house. We miss her!”

“That’s because her parents don’t dry hump on the couch. I have perpetually horny guardians.”

“That was one time! And we said sorry. We thought you were asleep.”

Yuuri cleared his throat awkwardly and let Mila go, his face flushed again. “Do you want to stay for lunch?” he asked her, clearly trying to change the subject.

“No.” Yuri answered for her before she could respond. “We’re leaving.” He slipped on his high-tops by the door.

“When will you be back?” Yuuri asked.

“Later.”

“Have him back by six please!” Victor told Mila.

“Will do!” She grinned and went back to the door.

“ _Six?_ ” Yuri’s arms fell to his sides in disbelief. “It’s _Saturday._ ”

“You have that history project due Monday…right?” Yuuri asked from the table, his voice going quiet as he sat down.

Yuri narrowed his eyes. “Yeah. So?”

The other Yuuri couldn’t keep his gaze.

Victor stepped in with a slightly forced smile. “ _So,_ I thought you should get a start on it tonight so that you don’t save all of your work for tomorrow.”

“I’ll get it done, alright? Don’t worry about it. I’ll be back later.”

“You’ll be back at six.”

“Victor!”

“We just thought it would be better if we didn’t have a repeat of last weekend,” Yuuri spoke up.

Already utterly annoyed, the pig’s unnecessary comment only pissed Yuri off more. “Stay the fuck out of it!” he snapped. “No one asked you to speak!”

So what if last Sunday’s homework meltdown was a little worse than usual? It was a bad night, sure, but it was _none_ of that pig’s business. Yuri could take care of himself. He didn’t need some random loser sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

“I’ll be in the car,” Mila said in the sudden silence. “Bye.” She waved quickly and slipped out the door, escaping the awkward atmosphere.

“I…you’re right. I’m sorry,” Yuuri said quietly as he looked down at the table.

“No.” Victor’s voice was unusually stern. His eyes were icy as he glared at Yuri. “You will _not_ talk to him like that. Apologize.”

Yuri actually scoffed. Like hell he was about to apologize; he was in the right! The pig had no right to act like he had a say about _anything_ in Yuri’s life. “Get off my ass, old man.” He turned for the door, but Victor grabbed his upper arm. It wasn’t tight enough to hurt, but it kept Yuri in his spot.

“I mean it.” Victor’s typically dumb smile had turned into a thin-lipped line. “Apologize to Yuuri. _Now._ ”

Yuri furrowed his brows and yanked his arm out of Victor’s grasp. “ _Fine._ ” He turned to the other Yuuri and practically snarled, “I’m _so_ sorry that you can’t keep your fat ass out of my business!” He threw open the door before Victor could stop him.

“Yuri!” The older man yelled after him, clearly upset.

Yuri slammed the door behind him and rushed to the elevators.

Damn. He hadn’t heard Victor sound that pissed in a while; he never used his real name unless he was angry. It was always that dumb nickname.

Yuri just didn’t like being told what to do. _Especially_ not by his second cousin’s fuck buddy. Fiancé, if he was being technical. Whatever.

Who the fuck was Katsudon to talk to him like that? Like he was his mom or something.

Yeah, right.

Yuri smacked the down button as soon as he reached the elevators and glared at his sneakers.

~~~~~~~~~~

“I hate that you guys get along,” Yuri said over the noise of the food court as he bit into a fry.

“Hm?” Mila looked up from her phone, then smiled. “We all just like to make sure you’re taken care of,” she mockingly cooed as she reached over the table to tousle his hair.

Yuri nearly hissed as he pushed her hand off. “I’m _serious._ They’re so goddamn annoying. Always telling me what to do. Being all lovey and gross in front of me. It’s disgusting. As if I need to see that.”

“Poor Yurochka.” Mila took a bite of her orange chicken. “It must be _awful_ to be trapped in a well-adjusted household with a steady income and two loving partners.”

“Suck a dick.”

Mila only smirked and sipped her coke. “Not on my schedule for today, but thanks for the suggestion.”

Yuri had met Mila a year before, when he was a freshman. She’d put off her foreign language requirement until her last two years of high school, so she was the only junior in his Spanish One class.

When he found out she was also from Russia, they struck up a conversation – in Russian – and it went from there.

She was super annoying a majority of the time. She loved to tease him and lean her arms on his head since she was a full head taller than him.

She could also be a real bitch and shot back whatever Yuri threw out.

She was kind of awesome. Although he would never tell her that.

They had a bit _too_ much fun talking shit about other students in Russian so no one could understand what they said; not that Yuri ever held back from talking shit to people’s faces in English, either.

It was also really great that she had a car so he could escape whenever the apartment of three guys and two pets felt too crowded.

And it was maybe possible that she was the first person he came out to.

Victor and Yuuri would be overly supportive, which would’ve been obnoxious, so Yuri just let it slip at lunch as they did their typical shit talking. When Mila brought up her ex’s – both boys and girls – and how much they sucked, Yuri’s “I think I’m gay,” was rushed and cut off her sentence.

Mila just shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah, I kind of figured. Anyway –”

Yuri actually smiled as she continued her hypothetical hit-list.

Mila gave no fanfare when it really mattered and annoyed him _just_ to the edge of his breaking point.

Yeah, okay. Maybe she was his best friend. Whatever.

“Can I stay over at your place tonight?” Yuri asked, dragging his finger through the water ring his paper cup had left.

“Are you kidding me?” Mila asked incredulously. “And have Victor hunt me down? No thanks.”

Yuri groaned and threw his head back dramatically. “They’re always on my ass about _everything._ ”

“Do you want to come to college with me? You’re so small I could definitely fit you in one of my suitcases.”

“Only if you actually manage to get into college.”

Mila whined and stabbed at her plate with her fork. “It’s not my fault! That asshole broke up with me in _September._ Of _senior_ year. Who does that? So yeah, maybe some of my grades dropped and my entrance essays were a bit of a mess, but I actually heard that your grades in junior year matter the most, so I’m fine,” she rambled. “Right? Yeah. I applied to _ten_ different schools, so at least one has to accept me, right? But especially SCAD, right? They’d be crazy not to accept me, right?”

The Savannah College for Art and Design was the top choice for most of the art students at their school – Mila was in AP ceramics and never shut the fuck up about it. It had a shit ton of buildings scattered throughout the city, both dorms and class buildings alike, so Yuri had probably passed multiple of them without even knowing. He did see a lot of the student art showcased around, though. Some of it was shit, others were alright.

It seemed like a good school. Or, it would have if Yuri cared about that kind of thing anymore.

“Yuri, tell me I’m right,” Mila pleaded.

“Would that make you feel better?”

“Yes.”

“Then I won’t.”

“You’re so –” Mila cut herself off as her eyes caught sight of her phone. “Oh! Message!” she announced excitedly and snatched up her phone.

Yuri chewed on his straw and rested his hand on his palm.

He knew that reaction: she was talking to someone she was interested in.

The said asshole who had dumped her at the beginning of the year was some dumbass football player, so Mila had sworn off athletes. Then, she had a short fling that ended badly with some girl in AP chemistry, so she’d said she was done with science students.

“Are you still talking to that guy?” Yuri asked. It wasn’t like he was interested in relationships. He wasn’t _interested,_ just…curious.

“What guy?” Mila glanced up from her phone as she frantically typed.

“I don’t know his name – that one who smokes weed in the band room.”

“Oh, _God_ no.” She wrinkled her nose and put her phone down. “That was just a hookup.”

“So, who was that?” he asked, glancing at her phone.

“Oh, who knows?”

Yuri just stared at her. “Huh?”

“I mean, I’m talking to like twelve guys. I can’t possibly remember the names of _all_ of them.”

“…You’ve officially lost it.”

Mila just waved him off. “It’s just Tinder, so it doesn’t really matter.”

That made Yuri pause. “You have a Tinder?”

“Yeah, like everyone does. I am _so_ over the guys at our school.”

“Let me see.” He grabbed her phone before she could respond.

“Don’t open any messages. It might be too intense for your young, virgin eyes.”

Yuri just flipped her off as he opened her phone (she always picked the easiest passwords) and tapped the Tinder app.

He looked through her profile – she was pretty enough, he guessed – before scrolling through her page of conversations. “Jesus Christ, Mila.” He looked up at her, not sure whether to be alarmed or impressed. “Twelve? There are like _thirty_ guys here.”

“It’s fun!” Mila defended herself as she stole her phone back.

“And you – you don’t actually meet up with all these guys, do you?”

She looked at him like he was crazy. “What do you take me for? My body count is only like five! Obviously, I don’t meet these guys. That’s what makes it so fun.”

“Sounds like a lot of work for nothing.”

“My sweet, little Yurochka.” Mila gently patted his head again before Yuri smacked her hand away. “That’s what you’re just too young to understand.”

“I’m not too young! So explain it!”

Mila smirked and tucked a short strand of red hair behind her ear. “It’s _hours_ of entertainment. I can just talk and flirt with guys with no commitment. And if I do decide to meet up with one, then I’m guaranteed free food. And if the date goes well, then who knows?” She grinned as if she was telling some sort of great secret. “And if I get bored or someone’s being really creepy, I can just block them. It’s kinda fun to fuck around on it when you don’t take it seriously. That’s why I filtered it so I only see men – I don’t like messing with girls like that.”

“You are _insane._ ” But it sounded…a little entertaining? Yuri didn’t know. It caught his curiosity, though.

He didn’t have any experience when it came to that sort of thing. He was only fifteen to be fair, but he also wasn’t exactly a ‘people person’. He knew he hypothetically liked guys, but he couldn’t imagine actually tolerating someone enough to be in a relationship with them.

Plus, Mila was right: all the boys in their school were annoying as shit.

But the idea of practicing, so to speak, with some stranger he could just block was tempting.

Mila finished the food on her plate and pointed her fork at him. “No, _they_ are. You would not _believe_ how many guys are into Russians. I guess they have a mail order bride fetish or something.”

“Huh.” Yuri mindlessly chewed on his last fry. “Maybe I should get one.”

Mila’s joking expression fell. “Um…you’re _fifteen._ ”

“God, Mila, I’m not going to do anything! Just sounds fun.”

“It is, but you have to be eighteen or older to play.”

Yuri rolled his eyes and stood up, grabbing his trash. “You’ve only been eighteen for like two months.”

“That’s all it takes. Besides, I’ve dated before, so it’s not like I’m new to anything.”

“I’m not _that_ innocent,” Yuri insisted.

“Oh please, you’ve never even kissed anyone.” Mila stood up and followed him to the closest trash can.

“I could totally kiss a guy if I wanted too; I’m hot as hell.” Yuri shoved his trashed in the bin, then stuck his hands in his pockets. “But the guys at our school all suck.”

“I’ll give you that one.” Mila threw her trash away before looping an arm through the crook of Yuri’s elbow. “But you’re still a _baby;_ you’ve got plenty of time!”

“Shut up.”

They made their way out of the crowded food court and into the open area of the mall.

“Where are we even going?” Yuri asked, allowing Mila to pull him along.

“First, I have to go to Sephora because they have this _incredible_ moisturizer, then –”

“You know that’s not going to get rid of your wrinkles, right?”

Mila flicked him on the forehead.

~~~~~~~~~~

“See you Monday!” Mila sang from the driver’s seat as she pulled away from the door of the apartment building.

Yuri gave a single wave before he used his keycard to enter the building.

The large lobby glowed brightly compared to the already dark sky. It was only five-forty, but the early February evening was dim.

Mila had wanted to make sure they’d got back on time, so they’d rushed back to the point where they were twenty minutes early.

Yuri stood in the lobby with his hood up, peaking through his blond fringe. He didn’t want to go back up. He leaned against a wall and crossed his arms, his shopping bag crinkling from the movement.

Victor and Katsudon would be up there all happy and gross and expecting him to apologize. Yuri didn’t want to deal with it. With them.

But he got bored after only five minutes, so he sighed to himself and headed over to the elevators.

He pulled his hood off as he got in the elevator and took his phone out to scroll through Instagram for the short ride up. He slid his phone in his back pocket when the door dinged open and made his way to the apartment.

Quietly, Yuri unlocked the door and slowly opened it, sticking his head inside. He expected to find the two men in the living area or kitchen, but the large room was empty.

He gently closed the door behind him and toed his shoes off.

Voices drifted from down the hall.

As carefully as he could, Yuri stepped over the carpet as he made his way to Victor and Yuuri’s room at the end of the hall.

“…you something?”

Yuri heard Victor’s voice muffled through the cracked door.

“No.” Yuuri’s voice was low. “I’m fine.”

“Yuuri.”

Yuri heard sheets rustling, like someone was sitting on the bed.

Victor spoke up again. “I’ll make dinner tonight and we –”

“ _No._ ” Yuuri’s voice was stern. “I said I’m fine, Victor. I’ll just…wait here.”

“You need to eat something.”

“Then I’ll grab something and eat in here.”

There was a pause; then, “…You really don’t want to come out that badly?”

“I…” Yuuri sighed. “I just don’t think he wants to see me right now.”

“Yuuri –”

“It’ll be easier for everyone if I wait out in here for a bit.”

Yuri turned his head in order to hear better.

“He’s probably already forgotten about it,” Victor said. “I know he sounded angry, but he always gets over it quickly.”

“I just…” There was a slight catch in Yuuri’s voice. “I can tell he still doesn’t like me very much. I – I don’t know what to do.”

“Hey.” Victor spoke soft and low as Yuri heard another rustle of sheets.

Yuri couldn’t see them, but he could easily imagine Victor holding the other man, placing his head atop Yuuri’s.

They were always so touchy-feely.

“This arrangement is still new,” Victor continued. “You only moved in here less than a year ago. These things take time.”

“I know…”

“And he’s still trying to adjust, too. It’s been a tough few years for him.”

“I know that. Which is why I don’t want to make anything worse.”

“I am _so_ happy you’re here. Honestly…if it weren’t for you, I don’t know how I would have handled everything. You are nothing short of incredible. He’ll see that, too. He will.”

Yuri left after that. He felt weird; he didn’t want to listen any longer.

He silently went back to the front door and opened it before slamming it shut immediately after. “I’m back,” he announced.

Victor emerged from the master bedroom and smiled. “Yurio!” he exclaimed, his tone lighter than it was only a moment before.

Yuri sidestepped Victor as the older man came to greet him.

“Oh, what did you get?” Victor asked, eyeing the shopping bag.

“Is this an interrogation?”

Victor hummed to himself. “Just a question.” Another question seemed to linger on his lips, but he didn’t ask it. “So,” he traveled to the kitchen and leaned on the granite countertop, “we were thinking dinner in an hour.”

“Whatever.” Yuri turned to go down the hall before Victor stopped him.

“Yuri.”

Yuri sighed in frustration. “I _know._ I’ll start on my homework now, okay?”

“No.” Victor’s gaze was pointed. “Are you okay?”

Yuri didn’t like how he seemed to look straight through him. “I’m fine.” With that, he went towards his room.

He paused before he entered and looked farther down the hall to the master bedroom. Victor had left the door open when he’d left it. Before he could stop himself, he passed his own room and went there instead.

Makkachin was napping on the wide bed and Yuuri was sitting with his laptop open at their desk.

“Hey. Katsudon.” Yuri stood in the doorway. He shoved his hands back in his pockets, the bag bumping his thigh.

Surprised, Yuuri turned around in his chair. “Oh, Yurio…hi.”

Uncomfortable, Yuri avoided eye contact and looked at the paintings on the wall. “I, uh –” He wasn’t one to apologize. He didn’t really know how. After a pause, he settled on, “Earlier – what I said. I didn’t mean it. Okay?”

Yuuri gave him a soft smile. “Okay.”

That was the most Yuri was willing to give, so he ducked out of the room and went to his own, closing the door behind him.

He dropped the bag of new t-shirts on the floor before collapsing on the bed.

Potya – who’d barely moved since he’d left earlier – made a small sound at the disruption. Pulling her into his arms, Yuri buried his face into her soft fur. She allowed it for a minute before she started to squirm in his grasp. He let her go and she trotted to the end of the bed before she sat down and began to bathe herself.

Yuri said that he’d start his homework, but he didn’t feel like it, so he rolled over and opened his laptop, which was resting precariously on the edge of the bed.

He fucked around online for half an hour until he put on a dumb Youtube video and went back to his phone.

Between checking his Instagram comments and starting a Twitter fight, a text from Mila popped up at the top of his screen.

Afterwards, Yuri laid on his back and stared at his phone.

So, Mila was actually meeting up with one of those guys? He knew she wasn’t going to last long.

But it was another high schooler, so he was at least glad she hadn’t completely lost her mind and started seeing old guys.

Chewing on his lip, Yuri decided to bite the bullet and see what was so great about that stupid app. He went to the app store and downloaded Tinder.

Naturally, the first thing it asked for after his phone number was his birthdate.

So, just as naturally, Yuri lied.

He picked a random day and after putting in that he was born November twenty-third, nineteen ninety-seven – making him eighteen – he had a Tinder account.

Setting up his profile was actually kind of fun.

Yuri wasn’t exactly modest; okay, he knew he was attractive, so he had plenty of pictures of himself to choose from. He picked some of his favorites – good selfies, pics taken with timers – and filled in any information he felt like adding.

What he wrote in the profile wasn’t really important, so it didn’t take long and once he finished, he started swiping.

He had filtered who he saw to only guys between eighteen and twenty within the city, but holy _shit_ it was never-ending.

He swiped left on most of them – they all looked like losers or douchebags – but some of them seemed okay enough,

“Yurio!” Victor threw open the door and Yuri threw his phone in surprise.

“Jesus Christ, Victor!” Yuri sat up as Potya jumped in alarm. “Fucking knock!”

“Language.” Yuri poked his head into the room.

“Dinner’s ready,” Victor told him.

“Could you set the table?” Yuuri asked.

“Have you been working?”

“Do you need any help?”

“What are you watching?”

“Oh my God! You two are so annoying!” Yuri threw a pillow in their direction which they both easily avoided. “Get out!”

“Are you coming though?” Victor asked with an irritating, expectant smile.

“ _Yes!_ Now leave!”

They left with matching grins and Yuri fell back on his bed with a huff.

They were being obnoxious just to piss him off, but whatever was cooking in the kitchen smelled really good.

Yuri’s stomach grumbled, so he rolled off the bed and picked up Potya. “Come on, girl. Let’s get you fed, too.” He walked out into the hall as the cat rubbed her head against his chest.

There was a crash in the kitchen, followed by Katsudon’s voice. “Makkachin, no! Bad dog!”

“Don’t yell at him!” Victor whined. “He doesn’t know any better! He’s just a baby!”

“Vitya, he’s like fifty in human years.”

“Well how is he supposed to know that?”

“This is what happens when you coddle him; he doesn’t learn boundaries.”

“He’s _sensitive,_ Yuuri.”

Yuri promptly turned around and put Potya back in his room. “Let’s wait another minute.”

Potya meowed in agreement and settled herself back on the bed as Yuri picked up his phone to wait out the dog parenting discussion.

He opened Tinder to find that he already had a few matches.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yuri sat in the hall with Mila and her other friends, since he was _well_ known as one of the few underclassmen cool enough to hang with the seniors.

He’d made it clear the first day of freshman year that he was not one to be fucked with and his reputation only grew. Even before his his sophomore year began, everyone knew better than to get on the bad side of Yuri Plisetsky. Despite his small stature, he could be _scary._

The one junior who tried to shove him into a locker once ended up with a foot down his throat. He couldn’t look at Yuri anymore without cowering.

It also didn’t hurt there were rumors floating around that he had ties to the Russian mafia.

So, yeah. Yuri could sit with the seniors.

He also joined them on Fridays when seniors were allowed to leave school for lunch; even the security guards didn’t dare try to stop him.

But it was Wednesday, so they spent their lunch hour sprawled out in a corner of the school by the chorus rooms.

Yuri ignored Emil’s animated story about his experience at a silent disco as he scrolled through Twitter. The rest of the group laughed at the story, while Mila and Sara, Emil’s girlfriend, giggled at something on Mila’s phone.

Sara’s hand lingered on Mila’s knee.

Yuri rolled his eyes and went back to his phone as he bit into a chip.

God, those two were flirting _all_ the time.

Emil was too much of a dumbass to notice his girlfriend’s wondering eye, so Yuri couldn’t really feel too bad for him. Granted, Mila and Sara had never actually done anything – Mila would have spilled it immediately – but they’d been playing that stupid pretend-they-aren’t-into-each-other game for two goddamn years.

Yuri wished they’d just hookup already.

He got a notification from Tinder and switched to the app to find a new message from some guy named Derek.

_Did you get your pants from space? Because your ass is out of this world._

Yuri actually snorted; that was _so_ lame. He showed it to Mila and Sara, who laughed at its ridiculousness and told him how to respond.

Mila was right – Tinder _was_ fun.

In only four days, Yuri had talked to so many guys he lost count. He fucked around with them and flirted for fun, but then ghosted or blocked them when he got bored or grossed out.

A large number of messages were guys asking him to sit on their face or proudly announcing their dick size, but there were some funny ones and he had a few genuinely good conversations.

He never talked to a guy for more than a day if he bothered to respond at all, so it was just some easy entertainment.

After telling Derek that he hadn’t heard that pick up line yet, but it was still lame as hell so he didn’t get any points, Yuri went back to the main page.

“I’m surprised so many guys are falling for this,” Sara said. “I mean, who would actually believe you’re eighteen?”

“Fuck you,” Yuri said as he swiped left on a guy posing with a dog. “I could totally be eighteen! It’s not my fault I’m short.”

“She’s right, Yuri.” Mila nodded in agreement. “You’re the definition of jailbait.”

“And fuck you, too. It’s just talking, so it’s whatever.”

Mila rolled her eyes playfully, then went back to her not-flirting-but-definitely-flirting with Sara.

Yuri ignored them along with whatever Emil was enthralling the group with and focused his attention back on his phone.

He sighed outwardly as he swiped past the third guy in a row holding a fish. What the fuck was it with men and fishing? Anyone with a picture of a dog or a fish was an instant pass.

Pulling his knees to his chest, Yuri brought his phone up to his face and kept swiping. He paused when he suddenly met with a pair of dark eyes.

Yuri found himself staring at the photo of the new guy on the screen: his hair was as dak as his eyes, and he had a strong jaw and an intense gaze.

Yuri swiped through his pictures, brows shooting up at one where the guy was leaning on a _motorcycle._

Holy _shit._

Yuri went through the guy’s photos again. He had a few candid shots of him in parks and city sidewalks. There was a photo of him DJing, too.

Jesus, he could DJ?

He also had a _really_ nice mirror selfie; a half-smile lined what looked at be a rather stoic face.

Yuri bit his lip unconsciously.

The guy on the screen was attractive.

No, he was _hot._

Then, doing something he almost _never_ did, Yuri actually looked at the guy’s profile instead of just his pictures. He didn’t really know why. He’d seen plenty of hot guys, but this one was –

Well. He was probably an asshole like the rest of them, but Yuri liked his eyes. So, he took the time to read his profile.

Otabek.

His name was Otabek. He was nineteen and a freshman at – holy shit. He went to SCAD.

There was an emoji of a flag in his profile that Yuri swore he’d seen before. He studied the small flag. Light blue with – was that a sun in the middle? And something else? It was too small to tell, but it looked familiar.

Otabek certainly wasn’t an American name, so maybe he was from another country, too? That would be cool.

Shit, everything else about him seemed unbelievably cool already.

“Baba.” Yuri smacked Mila’s arm to get her attention. “Baba, baba, baba, look at this one.”

Mila leaned over to look at Yuri’s outstretched phone. Her eyes immediately brightened in interest and she grabbed the phone from his hand. “Ooh, he’s hot!” She swiped through his pictures with a grin.

“He’s okay, I guess,” Yuri supplied nonchalantly. “He goes to SCAD, too.”

“ _What?_ ” Eyes skimming across his profile, Mila’s mouth dropped. “Oh my _God._ How have I not seen him yet?”

“Maybe he filtered out old hags.”

Mila waved him off and continued to look through Otabek’s profile. “Yuri! He says he’s bi! I have a shot!”

“Hey!” Yuri reached for his phone, but Mila held it out of his reach. “I saw him first!”

“I’m not done reading!” She gasped with a smile when she looked back at the phone. “Look at that, we’re neighbors!”

Yuri paused. “Huh?”

“Look.” She held the phone to his face and pointed to the small flag emoji. “That’s the flag from Kazakhstan. We’re country neighbors!”

Kazakhstan? Right, _that’s_ how Yuri knew it. It was located right below Russia. What were the odds of that? That was…kinda cool.

“Oh my _God,_ ” Mila said again, her hand flying to her chest dramatically. “This is fate. I’m destined to marry this man.”

“Gimmie that!” Yuri snatched his phone back.

“I have to find him. It must be a new profile.” Pulling out her phone, Mila mumbled to herself as she opened the app and started swiping.

Seeing Mila’s attention completely taken by her phone, Sara pouted and leaned against Emil.

Yuri went back to looking at Otabek’s pictures again. Why not give him a shot, right? It was just talking.

He swiped right. It was a match.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much trouble formatting the Tinder messages in a fake Tinder app, only for ao3 to not let me post them lmao (i literally tried to post this two hours ago), so I had to type them out. Yuri's messages are on the right side, while Otabek's are on the left; I hope it's not to confusing. Luckily, this is the only chapter I had to do it that way for because they switch to texting thank god
> 
> Also I forgot to say in the last chapter that this story takes place in 2016 because that's the year I graduated high school, so I can pull from my own hs experiences. idk what kids are like these days lmao

The bell rang just as Yuri swiped on Otabek. It was the bell signifying lunch was over and fifth period was about to begin.

Everyone began to pack up, so Yuri gathered his stuff and shoved it into his backpack before standing up to leave. He gave Mila a quick goodbye and made his way to his next class.

Feet carrying him by muscle memory, Yuri pulled his phone back out. He went straight to Tinder and opened up a conversation with Otabek.

_is that motorcycle yours or are you just standing in front of it to look cool?_

He paused by a few lockers before adding another message.

_because you look like a douche_

Yuri couldn’t just let Otabek know he thought he was cool. At least not yet. That wasn’t his style.

He tucked his phone back in his pocket and went to class.

Less than halfway through biology, he got bored of pretending to take notes on the DNA PowerPoint, so he took his phone out and hid it under the lab table.

After scrolling through Instagram, a notification popped up at the top of his screen, indicating that Otabek had responded. Immediately, Yuri switched over to Tinder and opened the message.

_It is mine. And yes, I did hope it looked cool._

_But you’re right. I do look rather douchey_

_only a little douchey. mostly cool. 70/30 split_

_90/10? At least._

_80/20_

_that’s as high as i’ll go_

_you’re like 80% cool_

_I’ll take it_

Yuri almost laughed in class after Otabek sent a sunglasses smiley emoji. What a dumb, weirdly charming emoji.

_plus having a motorcycle gives you at least 10 points_

_Oh, there’s a point system?_

_Damn straight_

_What’s it out of?_

_that’s for me to know_

_Then how many points do I have so far?_

_Besides the ten from my motorcycle_

_hmm. 23_

_Doesn’t seem very high._

_it’s not_

_step up your game otabek_

_impress me_

_I’m going to assume a shitty pick-up line won’t impress you._

_good guess_

Yuri felt his face heat up at the next message Otabek sent.

_What if I tell you how beautiful you are?_

Beautiful?

Tons of guys had called him cute – which Yuri did _not_ appreciate – while others had gone with hot or sexy, which he was much more agreeable with.

But beautiful? That was new.

Why was his face warm? That still sounded like a lame pick up line. But it wasn’t…awful.

_cheesy…but i’ll allow it_

_I’m glad, because you are very beautiful._

_your face is alright_

_I’m glad my face is passable._

_very passable_

God, he was so _cheesy._ But Yuri had to hold back the smile that threatened to spread across his face.

He didn’t know quite how to respond, but like hell he was going to tell Otabek how hot he thought he was straight out. He had to act casual.

So, he quickly changed the conversation, first and foremost asking Otabek how he felt about cats. He’d have to stop things right then and there if he was talking to a dog lover. Luckily, Otabek said they were magnificent, so Yuri gave him 20 points.

They simply chatted for a while, asking simple questions and sharing dumb one-liners. Otabek typed so formally; it was pretty amusing.

When Otabek asked what he was up to, Yuri shared that he was currently bored as fuck, but talking to him was okay he guessed. Otabek replied that he enjoyed talking to him too so far. Yuri called him a sap.

_How many points for me to buy you a coffee?_

_hitting on me already?_

_didn’t take you long did it?_

_Just a question for possible future reference. Nothing more._

_future reference huh?_

_Possibly. If I get enough points, that is._

_we’ll see about that_

_i don’t give those things out easily_

_That’s alright; I’m not one to back down from a challenge._

_I’m gonna make you work for it_

_Try me_

Yuri smirked. He liked the way Otabek played along with him.

Although, Yuri did mean it: he could be difficult. But it seemed like Otabek was up for it. Besides, it’s not like they were really going to talk for that long anyway.

But still, Otabek seemed to be into it, so Yuri would humor him.

He was about to respond when he heard his name called.

“Yuri.”

Looking up, Yuri saw his biology teacher by his table. He didn’t even realize she’d come over.

“Are you paying attention?” his teacher asked in exasperation.

“No,” he answered honestly. He never hid it when he wasn’t interested.

“Phone. Now.” She held out hand expectantly. “You can have it back after class.”

Turing his phone off, Yuri just slipped it in his backpack. “It’s off. Happy?”

Sighing and clearly not willing to start an argument, she just rubbed her fingers against her temple. “Just keep it that way, alright?”

Yuri only shrugged in response and his teacher sighed again before turning back to the PowerPoint.

While he didn’t pay attention, he didn’t take his phone back out. Victor would be pissed if he got another snippy email from one of Yuri’s teachers.

He doodled in his notebook until the bell rung.

He messaged Otabek as he walked to his next class.

~~~~~~~~~~

Yuri waited by the fence of the sports field next to the student parking lot. School had just gotten out, so he was waiting by Mila’s car for a ride home.

Unlike him, Mila was social, so she always spent at least fifteen minutes after school just talking with her other friends. Yuri wasn’t interested, so he preferred to wait alone.

Just as he took his phone out to see if Otabek had responded to the last message he’d sent during seventh period, his phone rang.

Victor was calling.

Yuri blew air out of his nose and answered the call. “Yeah?”

“Yurio!” Victor’s voice was obnoxiously loud on the other side. “Are you out of school yet?”

“I’m answering the phone, aren’t I? So what do you think? What do you want?”

“I love how you just get straight to the point.”

“ _Victor._ ”

“I’m so sorry, but could you talk Makkachin for a walk?”

“Ugh, why?”

Victor began to whine over the phone. “Please? You know he needs to get out at least three times a day, but this afternoon I just couldn’t get out of work for my lunch break, so I called Yuuri, but he’s tied up too, so now Makkachin is just waiting inside and I haven’t been back and what if he needs to pee? Or he’s lonely and thinks I’ve forgotten him? And he needs his exercise Yurio.”

“Okay!” Yuri agreed, just to shut him up. “Fine! I’ll walk the dog.”

“Thank you! I’ll make pirozhki tonight as a thank you! Makkachin thanks you! Yuuri thanks –”

Yuri hung up. Okay, maybe that was a little _too_ rude, but he was about to waste his time walking the stupid dog that wasn’t even his. As if he didn’t have anything better to do. He was allowed to be annoyed.

Mila talked his ear off in the car about her ceramics project that was just _not_ coming together, then Yuri was home, alone with the pets.

He gave Potya all his attention first – as she deserved – and played with her until she got tired and curled up on the couch.

Then it was Makkachin’s turn.

The dog followed Yuri around the apartment like a really annoying shadow, even as the teenager told him repeatedly to leave him alone.

He went _insane_ when Yuri pulled out the leash from the hall closet and nearly knocked him over.

“Stupid dog,” Yuri mumbled as he managed to clip the leash to Makkachin’s collar.

Once outside, the poodle immediately began pulling on it roughly. He chased squirrels, barked at other dogs, pissed on nearly every goddamn tree, and shit twice.

They were by a park when he spied a rabbit and lunged at it, nearly pulling Yuri’s arm out of its socket before yanking him into a patch of dirt and dragging him through it.

By the time they got back to the apartment, Yuri was tired, dirty, and _not_ in a good mood.

Makkachin happily made his way over to the master bedroom to undoubtedly nap on the bed.

Yuri glared at the annoying, needy animal before dropping on the couch next to Potya.

He took out his phone. Normally, he’d check social media, but his thumb automatically tapped Tinder.

He kind of wanted to talk to Otabek for no reason. They’d been having small conversations throughout the day when Yuri could sneak his phone out.

Their last discussion was about how Otabek had an astronomy class later that night. He’d wanted to take anthropology, but with English being his _third_ language, he’d confused the two subjects and sighed up for the wrong thing. Then he’d found out there weren’t any anthropology classes that fit in his schedule that semester, so he was stuck with it.

But Otabek had assured Yuri that he wouldn’t bore him with it, since he couldn’t imagine him “being sappy enough to care about the stars.” Yuri told him just how correct he was in that assumption, but he grinned to himself.

Otabek had this kind of dry humor that Yuri enjoyed more than he would have guessed.

_I just spent the last hour picking up dog shit_

_and having my arm ripped off by a 28kg monster_

_shoot me_

_You have a dog??_

_Fuck no! he’s not mine – my second cousin’s_

_he’s a nightmare_

_Dogs aren’t that bad, Yuri._

_you just lost 83 points for saying that to me_

_I’ve lost count how many I have now._

_me too but you’re definitely in the negatives now_

_Damn. I take back the dog comment, then._

_Nope. too late._

_that dog literally dragged me through the dirt_

_so im verbally doing the same to every dog ever_

_What breed is he?_

_poodle_

_ugly_

_Those are high maintenance._

_Now I’m surprised that you two don’t get along_

_fuck you_

_i’m extremely low maintenance_

_Sorry_

_I must have been talking to a different Yuri earlier who said_

_he would literally rather die than be caught wearing converse_

_only bc they suck ass!! vans are obviously superior_

_excuse me for having taste_

_You’re right, naturally._

_damn right I am_

_but really now i have to take a shower_

_i smell like dirt and stupid dog_

_You should get to that._

_that’s it?_

_?_

_it’s just whenever i even mention the word shower on this app_

_i get asked for a picture_

_Oh. Is that what you want?_

_fuck no_

_I wasn’t planning on asking, but now I certainly won’t._

_Regardless, you can’t send pictures on this app._

_For that reason I’m sure._

_which is why they beg for my number first_

_you’re too nice to be here_

_I appreciate that_

_But I simply don’t want to cross any boundaries._

_are you for real?_

_I’m just interested in getting to know you._

_Respectfully, of course._

_I’m being catfished right?_

_there’s no way you talk like this and look this hot at the same time_

The hypocrisy of him jokingly accusing Otabek of catfishing wasn’t lost on Yuri, but it didn’t really matter. They were just messing around. It totally didn’t matter – he would probably get bored of him in the morning.

_No, you are not._

_And you think I’m hot?_

_you’re going to make me say it?_

_I would appreciate it_

_ugh. fine_

_you’re hot as fuck okay?_

_swiped for your face, stayed bc you’re not entirely an asshole_

_I’m flattered. Really._

_So. why did you swipe on me?_

_Your profile caught my eye._

_You sounded like someone I would like to meet._

_And this next part is going to sound superficial_

_But I meant it when I said you’re beautiful._

_But that is a selfish reason._

_you really are cheesy, huh_

_Maybe a bit, yes_

Yuri cursed at himself for flushing at being called beautiful again. What the hell was with that?

He leaned against the couch as he reread Otabek’s messages. Who says exactly what they’re thinking? Otabek was just…honest.

It was weird. Normally Yuri would just chat guys up, then drop them the next day. But he talked to Otabek for the rest of the evening. He still hadn’t gotten in the shower by the time both Victor and Yuuri got home.

He figured he’d lose interest in the morning, but Yuri woke up to his alarm along with a message from Otabek.

He answered it immediately.

Throughout the next two days, Yuri and Otabek messaged each other whenever they had a free moment. It was so unlike Yuri, but he actually _liked_ talking to him.

They just talked about their classes or interests or Yuri would rant about the _long_ list of things he couldn’t stand so Otabek knew exactly what not to bring up so he wouldn’t lose any more points.

And, when discussing classes, Yuri might have stretched the truth just a bit.

He had already told Otabek that he was a senior, so he couldn’t exactly share what went on in his tenth grade English class. But it was fine; he would just name classes he knew Mila took or say he was in advanced placement. It didn’t feel like a total lie, since he _could_ take AP classes. If he wanted to. In a year or so. Whatever.

And it was just talking. White lies were fine here and there.

Besides, Yuri liked hearing more from Otabek anyway, which was also a new experience – he rarely cared about whatever these guys wanted to tell him.

Otabek’s texts were always shorter than Yuri’s and right to the point, but he was always involved in their conversations.

Yuri learned that Otabek was majoring in graphic design, but he was also really interested in music, which in turn resulted in an argument over whether or not The Beatles were overrated (Yuri would go to his grave claiming they were, but Otabek made a few good points) and a two-hour discussion about genres.

_people who like popular music are basic and_

_anyone into that underground shit is pretentious_

_i’ve found the sweet spot since my music taste is superior_

_I’m sure it is, but there’s no such thing as a bad genre._

_country_

_There are plenty of good country artists, Yuri._

_oh my god. O H my god_

_i have to block you now_

_I can prove it_

_bullshit_

_Really. I have a ton of playlists, including a few country ones._

_If you let me send you one, I promise I can change your mind_

_calling bullshit again_

_If I’m wrong, you can block me._

_deal_

_what if – incredibly hypothetically – it’s not total shit_

_what do you get?_

_I get to send you another one._

_as long and your playlists aren’t named after basic shit_

_like rainy days or something_

_How about lo-fi hip hop beats to study/relax to?_

_do i look like a goddamn anime girl_

_wait don’t you fucking dare answer that_

“Hey, Mila,” Yuri asked as they drove to her house after school. “Do you ever give your number out? To those guys on Tinder?”

“Oh, yeah.” She slowed to a stop in front of a red light. “All the time.” She pulled down the visor to look in the mirror and inspect her hair. “I mean, dick pics are to be expected, but I can still block them if I’m not interested.”

The light turned green, so Mila flipped up the visor as she hit the gas.

“Wait.” She glanced at Yuri out of the corner of her eye before focusing back on the road. “ _You’re_ not giving your number to anyone, right?”

“I don’t know.” Yuri looked out the passenger side window. He’d only been talking to Otabek for three days, but so far, he didn’t want to stop. Using the app was getting annoying; he hadn’t swiped on anyone else since matching with Otabek, but previous matches kept messaging him. Even if he was going to get bored with him soon, it would be easier to text. Besides, how else was he going to send him stupid Twitter memes? “Maybe.”

“ _Yuri,_ ” Mila whined. “It’s fine to mess around on the app, but you don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression that you’re actually interested.”

Yuri rolled his eyes as he stared out the window. “You’re just saying that because you met your new boyfriend on there.”

“He’s not my _boyfriend,_ ” she corrected. “We’re just going on a real date tonight. We’ll see. My point is, most of the guys on there are jerks, but not all of them. Don’t give false hope to the nice ones. You’re fifteen.”

“I forgot, thanks for the reminder,” he said flatly.

Completely forgetting about the point that _she_ brought up, Mila gasped and crinkled her nose. “Oh! Speaking of jerks, guess what?”

“I’m not going to guess.”

“You remember that hot Kazakh guy Otabek you showed me the other day? I _finally_ matched with him in sixth period –”

“What?” At hearing Otabek’s name, Yuri whipped his head back to Mila, now paying complete attention.

“We had a sub sixth period, so we weren’t doing anything and I got bored, so I went on –”

“No –” he cut her off. “You matched with him?” If Mila had matched with Otabek, that meant _he_ had swiped right on her at some point as well.

Yuri shouldn’t care. He _didn’t_ care. Nope, not at all. The bile in his throat was probably indigestion.

“Yeah, finally!” Mila exclaimed. “I’ve been hoping to find him for days and I did today, but guess what?”

“I’m not going to guess!” Yuri was suddenly irritated.

“So I messaged him immediately because why wouldn’t I? He’s got a body you could lick chocolate off of –”

“ _Mila –_ ”

“But he told me sorry, he was already talking to someone else and he didn’t want to be ‘disingenuous’ or some shit like that. I mean, what the hell is that about?”

“What?” Yuri looked around for a moment as he thought. “He said that?”

“Yeah! The whole _point_ of that app is to talk to multiple people. How lame is that?”

Yuri looked back out the window and forced the smile off his face. “Totally lame.” He was the only one Otabek was talking too? That guy really was kinda sappy, but it didn’t bother Yuri as much as something like that usually would. Then again, it’s not like he was talking to anyone else either.

“Well, whatever.” Mila sniffed and shrugged. “I have a hot date tonight with an almost equally as hot guy.”

Yuri gagged. “You sound like Victor. If he and Katsudon go to the fucking grocery store he calls it a hot date.”

“Oh, I bet those two can have a _lot_ of fun at a grocery store. They have a nice car and those parking lots have a ton of unlit corners.”

“God! Mila! Don’t make me imagine that!”

Cackling, Mila turned left. “You know I’m right.”

“Unfortunately.” Yuri’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. Oh _fuck._ ” He turned back to Mila. “It’s Friday.”

“Uh – yes?”

“Victor and the pig don’t have work tomorrow. They’re going to fuck _all_ night – _please_ let me stay over!”

“And what do you think _my_ plans are tonight?” she asked incredulously.

Yuri made a sound somewhere between a groan, gag, and sigh. “You’re all useless!”

“Don’t be jealous, Yuri. It’s not a good look on you.”

“Bitch.”

“Brat.”

“Bimbo.”

“Baby.”

They shared a quick grin before Yuri went back to his signature scowl. “Whatever,” he mumbled. “If I go deaf from playing my music too loud, I’m blaming you.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

“You’ve never been there when they’re doing it – I have to blast that shit.”

“That just means they’re having a good time,” she smirked.

“ _Gross._ Stop making me think about it!” Yuri crossed his arms and slid down in the seat.

“And since we’re on the subject –”

“Do I want to hear whatever you’re about to say?”

“I’m staying over at this guy’s house, but I told my parents that I’m spending the night at Sara’s, so if they ask, that better be what you say.”

“Would spending the night at Sara’s end any differently?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yuri just rolled his eyes again and checked his phone. He wanted to smile at Otabek’s newest message, but Mila would have bugged him about it, so he bit it back.

_I saw a feral cat this afternoon._

_badass_

_street cats are tough as shit_

_They really are._

_This was a little yellow one that reminded me of you._

_are you calling me cute?_

_bc you’ll lose 100 points for pulling that shit_

_I wouldn’t dare_

_He was badass; he hissed at me when I got too close._

_incredible_

_you better have taken pictures_

_Of course. Unfortunately I can’t share them here._

_yeah that sucks :/_

_you could send to me tho_

_if I give you my number_

_Is that okay with you?_

_i just offered didn’t i?_

_but any dick pics and youre blocked_

_only pussy pics_

_I honestly just laughed out loud_

_But I wouldn’t dream of it._

Yuri gave him his number and almost immediately after, a text from an unknown number came through.

It was a series of four photos of a scruffy, longhaired yellow cat, its green eyes squinting suspiciously at the camera. Another photo popped up of the cat mid-hiss.

Yuri couldn’t help but breathe out a laugh himself. The cat really _did_ look like him.

“What’s so funny?” Mila asked.

“Just a tweet.”

Yuri wasted no time spamming Otabek with tons of pictures of Potya. His camera roll was at least seventy percent full of her anyway.

“Earth to Yuri.” Mila waved in his face. “Hello? We’re here.”

“Hm?” Yuri looked up; they were in Mila’s driveway. He hadn’t even realized the car had stopped.

They grabbed their backpacks and got out of the car.

“Okay, you can stay for exactly two hours, then you’re gone; I have to get ready,” Mila said as they walked up the stone steps.

“Yeah, yeah.” Yuri went back to his phone.

As Yuri and Mila lounged on her bed and shared a bowl of pretzels while watching shit reality TV, he texted Otabek.

Yuri texted him during the Uber ride home and as he chilled in his room while Victor and Yuuri’s voices filtered through the hall as they flitted around the apartment.

But Otabek was back after Yuri was forced to sit through an unbearably painful dinner where Victor and the pig practically eye-fucked each other across the table.

He rushed back to the sanctity of his room and complained to him for half and hour. Otabek – of course – listened to all of his points because Yuri was always right.

Then, they spent the rest of the night talking.

They talked about nothing.

They talked about everything.

Yuri yawned and rubbed his eyes as he tapped on the screen.

It was past one in the morning, but he still had music blasting through his headphones just in case those two were still going at it. Which they definitely were.

Otabek had sent his Spotify profile hours ago and Yuri had been listening to his playlists all night. They were fucking _good._

He even suffered through a country one; while certainly not his taste, he couldn’t deny that it was objectively not the worst thing ever.

Meeting up? They had been talking for a few days straight; that was probably the next step, right?

But this was Tinder – people used it for sex. Something serious might come from it, but that wasn’t exactly the point of the app. A hook up was probably what Otabek was after.

A frown settled over Yuri's face. He should have known this was all a waste of time anyway. So, he responded rather harshly because Otabek didn’t need to know that he was talking out of his ass. Or that he was nervous.

Otabek was asking him out. There was this weird, flipping feeling in Yuri’s stomach at the word ‘date’. He’d never been on one.

Yuri rested his phone on his chest as he looked around his room.

Dates could be casual, right? It was just one; it didn’t have to _mean_ anything. And the chance to meet Otabek in person could be fun. Maybe. He might as well – he didn’t have anything better to do. And if it sucked, he could always leave.

He picked up his phone again.

Yuri paused to let his mind catch up with his fingers.

They were going on a _date._ Holy shit.

He was going on a date with Otabek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since you can't copy and paste the Russian into google translate, the (definitely incorrect) translation is:  
> O: это мой второй язык. (this is my second language.)  
> Y: заставляет вас звучать сексуально 👀 (makes you sound sexy 👀)
> 
> I know this chapter felt very rushed, but I'm impatient lmao and just wanted them to meet. Next one will be more flushed out I promise.
> 
> I'm extremely unsure about this fic, so thank you all so much for your comments and kudos <3

**Author's Note:**

> Will update on Fridays!


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